Penton's Cynthia Wisehart Named as Winner; Four Penton Sites Selected as Finalists in `Best of the Web' Competition

NEW YORK--Penton Media, Inc. today announced that editorial director Cynthia Wisehart has been selected as a winner in the “Online Editor” category in the 2008 “Best of the Web” awards competition, conducted by min and min’s b2b. In addition, four Penton sites were selected as finalists in six categories of the competition. The winners of these categories will be announced in April. The awards program recognizes the best Web sites and Web programs of consumer and business-to-business magazine publishers. Judges for the Best of the Web awards included consumer and b2b magazine executives, digital media consultants, and members of the min editorial team.

Cynthia Wisehart, editorial director of millimeter, digitalcontentproducer.com, svconline.com and reel-exchange.com, began her career with Penton in 1998 as editor of millimeter when the brand had no online presence. Today, in addition to overseeing these Web sites, she heads a team that produces up to 25 e-newsletters each month, monthly Webcasts and regular podcasts.

This year, Wisehart continued to co-author the group’s on-site Sundance Blog and co-authored the on-site NABlog, which covers the National Association of Broadcasters’ show, her industry’s largest trade show. Her experience with these blogs and podcasts helped shape two major online initiatives: Reel-Exchange, a central online location where someone looking for a professional video subcontractor, employee or collaborator could go to see talent from around the country and the world; and The Briefing Room, which provides RSS-driven access to a broad cross-section of industry press releases and supporting materials, posted by member publicists with editorial oversight, and now one of the most popular site destinations for visitors.

Penton’s Reel-Exchange.com was selected as a finalist in both the “Community/Social Networking” and “Design” categories. WardsAuto.com, a previous two-time winner, was chosen as a finalist in both the “Premium Site” and “Special Online Coverage” categories. Broadcast Engineering’s multiple e-newsletter offerings were named as a finalist in the e-mail newsletter division, while integration of Penton’s Remix Hotel site was selected as a finalist in the “Redesign/Relaunch” category.

Penton Media, Inc. is the largest independent business-to-business media company in the U.S., serving more than six million business professionals every month. The company's market-leading brands are focused on 30 industries and include 113 trade magazines, 145 Web sites, 150 industry trade shows and conferences, and more than 500 information data products. Headquartered in New York City, the privately held company is owned by MidOcean Partners and U.S. Equity Partners II, an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP, and its co-investors. For additional information on the company and its businesses, visit www.penton.com.